A £1.3 MILLION cash injection to help tackle serious violence has been described as a “drop in the ocean”.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced that £12.4 million will be distributed to 18 forces dealing with high levels of violent crime, including Sussex Police.

But the extra funding is not enough, according to MPs and police officers on the ground.

As previously reported by the Argus, all three Brighton and Hove MPs wrote to the Home Secretary demanding urgent action on rising levels of violent crime in the city.

Violent crime in Brighton has more than doubled since 2011, with more than 5,739 incidents of violence recorded in the first quarter of 2019.

Hove MP Peter Kyle said: “Any money provided which will help our police fight violent crime is hugely appreciated.

“I’m also immensely pleased that a combined effort from the city’s MPs has helped to bring £1.34 million in to our force by piling pressure on the government.

“However, it’s disappointing to have to remind the Home Secretary that analysis of National Audit Office data shows that our Sussex Force experienced a drop in funding which totalled £57,256,043 in real-terms over the last eight years, making the £1.34 million a mere drop in the ocean.

“The true, effective way to combat violent and sexual crime is to have more bobbies on the beat and more community police in our schools.”

The chairman of Sussex Police Federation, the organisation representing rank-and file officers on the ground, welcomed the extra money but agreed it was “a drop in the ocean” compared to the £57million lost since 2010.

Matt Webb said: “This is a sticking plaster solution to a long-term problem that we nee to solve.”

Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas said: “Sussex has had to make £76 million ‘savings’ over seven years because of cuts to the policing grant from 2010.

“So while any new money for local policing is always welcome, neither this latest allocation nor other recent increases come close to plugging the hole that’s been left in budgets and on our streets.

“We need guaranteed levels of investment in order to tackle the multiple, and complex, issues that our communities face in Brighton and Hove – as a direct result of reduced policing, but also because of the wider impact of the government’s harmful austerity agenda too.”

Mr Javid said:“I’ve been doing everything in my power to ensure we have the strongest possible response to tackle violent crime – and law enforcement plays a key role in this.

“This money means forces can take urgent action, including more officers on duty in the worst affected areas.

“It takes a collective effort to tackle violent crime and I’ll continue to work closely with police and partners to end this senseless bloodshed.”

Kemptown MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle has been approached for comment.